Flywheel system



June 17, {952 s. D. LIVINGSTON FLY WHEEL SYSTEM Filed May 22, 1951 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 June 17, 1952 s. D. LIVINGSTON 2,600,552

FLY WHEEL SYSTEM Filed May 22, 1951 2 Sl-lEE'fHl-EET 2 Patented June '17, 1952 UNITED STATES ATENT orries (Cl. Wk-572) 2 Claims. 1 This invention relates to improvements in fly wheel systems.

More particularly, the invention is concerned with the elimination of shock on drive gearing due to reversal of movement of a reciprocating,

mass. :A typical application for the fly wheel -,system 'of the inventionis in'a packer 'box delivery, in which-the reciprocation of the usual pusher arms, which have considerable'inertia,

tending to limit the usefulness of-suchdeliveries at high speeds, due topossible failure of the gearing.

It is an object of the:present invention to permit increase in the speed of operation of such a reciprocating drive by stabilizing the load on the drive gearing, eliminating shock due to reversal of movement of the driven mass.

A further object of the invention is to provide fly wheel stabilized drive and reciprocating mechanism, in which the kinetic energy of the system as a whole may be maintained substantially constant, thus eliminating torque variation in the drive shaft supplying the power thereto, in so far as the torque variation is due to the inertia of the parts.

With the foregoing objects and still other objects which will appear in mind, the invention consists in the combination and arrangements of parts and details of construction which will now first be fully described with reference to the accompanying drawing and then be more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a mechanism embodying the invention in a preferred form;

Figure 2 is a side elevation view of the mechanism of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a rear elevation of the fly wheel of Figures 2 and 3;

Figures 5 to 8 are diagrammatic views showing the position of certain parts in difierent angular positions of the fly wheel.

In Figure 2, the level of the table with which the pusher arms 2 cooperate, is indicated in phantom. The invention is not concerned with the packer box apart from the pusher and drive therefor, and the packer box table and other parts may be of any desired construction. The arms 2 are fixed to a cross bar 3 and are pivotally mounted on a shaft H by means of an extension 4 of the middle arm 2. A link 5 is pivotally connected at 6 and 1 to a frameeleimposes relatively severe loadson thegearing I :ment and tothe extension-4. Shaft is-rotatably mounted in arms 9 Which--are-pivotally supported .from'brackets '8 on pins- -|-|l. Wristpin l2 connects-an arm 9 :to pitma-n 3 ;-and

"drive crank M.

The crankshaft "is carried in an anti-friction bearing I5 (Figure wand-connected by' anofiset bracket I6 to fly wheel H which is drivenby a ishaftlB supported in anti-friction bearings-|-9 and which -is-coaxial with the crankshaft;

Sector shaped -weights 2B, 2|and 22--are flx-ed to shafts -23 journaled in the fly wheel '11 and are drivenby planet gears- 24 meshing with-idler gears 25'which, in turn, mesh-with- -a stationary sun gear 26. The gear ratio between sun gear 26 and the planet gears 24 is two-to-one. Assuming counterclockwise rotation of fly wheel H in Figure 2, the planets 24 will rotate with respect to the fiy wheel I! at twice its angular velocity and in the opposite or clockwise direction. Since the movement of revolution of the pinions will be in the same direction as the fly wheel and at equal angular velocity, the net rotation of the planets 24 with respect to the stationary frame structure will be at the same ing the return movement of the pusher mechanism is clockwise, but the weight 2| being in its outer position exerts counterbalancing counterclockwise torque, so that by a suitable relation of the dimensions and masses of the parts, the shock due to starting the reciprocating pusher mass from the position of rest is substantially eliminated. As the parts move from the position of Figure 5 to that of Figure 6, the clockwise torque against the fly wheel due to the pusher decreases and the counterclockwise counterbalancing torque of the weight 2| correspondingly decreases until, as shown in Figure 6, this counterbalancing torque is reduced substantially to zero. The movement of the parts from the position of Figure 6 to that of Figure 7 involves a slowing down of the reciprocating pusher mass by the fly wheel so that the torque exerted thereby on the fly wheel is counterclockwise. The weight M having passed under the axis. of rotation of the fly wheel will now exert an increasing clockwise torque, thus continuing to balance the pusher in its reciprocation. As the fly wheel continues to rotate, there is thus at all times a counterbalancing of the torque on the fly wheel due to the reciprocating mass, by the torque due to the weight 2|. For a theoretically perfect counterbalance, the distance between the center of gravity of weight 21 and the axis of rotation of the fly wheel I! should be equal to the distance between the axis of shaft 23 and shaft I8. In this case,- the center of gravity of the weight 21 will move back and forth in a straight line through the axis of shaft [8 and fly wheel H. Movement of the center of gravity C in the flat elliptical path P, however, furnishes sufficient counterbalancing to eliminate undue strain on the gears and permits a more compact construction.

The weights 20 and 22 serve to balance the variation in kinetic energy of the system due to the movement of the center of gravity of the weight 2| toward and away from the axis of the fly wheel, with consequent change in moment of inertia of the fly wheel and weight 21 considered as a unit. Thus, it will be noted that in the position of Figures 5 and '7, when the weight 21 is in an outer position, weights 2!! and 22 are in an inner position, while in the position of Figures 6 and 8, when the weight 2| is in an inner position, weights 20 and 22 are in an outer position. By proper selection of the masses and dimensions, it thus becomes possible to eliminate or to smooth out to any required degree the variation in moment of inertia of the fly wheel caused by movement of the weight 2!. As a practical matter and apart from such minor disturbing factors as crank errors, shock on the gear teeth in the drive is thereby eliminated.

What is claimed is:

1. A fly wheel system for reciprocating drives comprising a fly wheel, a counterbalance weight rotatably mounted thereon for movement toward and away from the fly wheel axis, a pair of weights similarly and symmetrically mounted with respect to the fly wheel axis, gearing for rotating the counterbalance weight oppositely and at the same angular velocity as the fly wheel, whereby the said counterbalance weight may balance torque on the fly wheel due to a reciprocating mass driven thereby, and gearing for similarly rotating the said pair of weights, the said gearing being arranged to move the said pair of weights toward the fly wheel axis as the counterbalance weight moves away from the fly wheel axis, whereby the said pair of weights counteract variation in moment of inertia in the fly wheel system due to the movement of the counterbalance weight and the reciprocating mass,

2. A fly wheel systemaccording to claim 1, in which the gearing for rotating the said weights comprises a stationary sun gear, planet pinions driving the weights and intermediate idler gears between the sun gear and pinions, the drive ratio being two-to-one.

STANLEY D. LIVINGSTON.

No references cited. 

